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by TheRedWulf



Series: Stansa One Shots [17]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Drabble, F/M, Family, First Meetings, Fluff, Marriage, Meet-Cute, Meh, Military, Modern Era, Sorry?, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Upbeat - Freeform, plot holes, stansa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 10:36:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21426832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedWulf/pseuds/TheRedWulf
Summary: AU - Modern - In which Stannis reminisces on his flight home...
Relationships: Stannis Baratheon & Sansa Stark, Stannis Baratheon/Sansa Stark
Series: Stansa One Shots [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1405915
Comments: 35
Kudos: 225





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**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fluffy piece that came to mind at the sight of a silicone wedding ring. Odd, I know, but bear with me.
> 
> For the 600th time I don't consider myself a writer. This is unbeta'd so I apologize for any errors. :D :P
> 
> Thank you for reading!

Stannis shifted against the thin pad of the cargo seat, doing his best to stay relaxed as they crossed the final distance back to Storm’s End. Back home. He had been gone for six months, forced to endure the overheated hell of the desert and the day-to-day grind that came along with being a commanding officer. 

But that was it. The end of his final tour and now he could shift duties to a permanent position at base. He wouldn’t have to leave again, not if he didn’t wish to. And he certainly didn’t wish to.

As the military cargo plane bounced and jostled its way through the sky, he couldn’t help but stare down at the black silicone ring that had sat around his left ring finger for many years. It wasn’t the tungsten one that his wife had slipped onto his finger the day they exchanged vows, but a more practical, disposable piece that he could wear while deployed. 'Disposable' she had called it, to prevent him from scratching or losing the piece he normally wore.

This ring had been the topic of many conversations during his most recent deployment, all of his command staff very curious about the woman who had married _him_\--the most severe commander in recent years. Stannis would only pin them with a sharp glare, ordering them back to work. His private life was just that, private. He didn’t want to talk about his wife anymore than he wanted to be stuck in the desert away from her. 

He heard the gossip, rumors about Baratheon being married to a pointy eared troll, and while it made him livid, he knew that was far from the truth. His wife was far more beautiful than he deserved, and far more incredible. 

She was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him, he knew that beyond a doubt. He hadn’t expected a vibrant, stunning woman with a smile that could stop anyone in their tracks and a kind heart to match, to burst into his life. But burst she had, and once he realized that she could be his forever, he never looked back. He grabbed ahold of her and married her before she could think twice. 

Though, she would say that it was all her idea, that _she_ had trapped _him_, but you can’t trap the willing.

Today, the others would finally get their wish to see what sort of ‘beast’ he had married, since his beloved spouse would be meeting him at the airfield. Spouse, he almost smirked to himself. She would certainly roll her eyes at being called a ‘spouse’. 

“ETA 5!” the co-pilot called out and Stannis felt the plane adjust and begin its descent. 

Five more minutes and he would finally be back in her arms. 

Five more minutes. 

_ “Lady! Lady stop--oh no---no!” Stannis heard the yelling and he turned to see a huge wolf-dog running towards him, tongue lolling and tail wagging. Unsure what to do, he froze, watching the dog until it was upon him, standing on its back legs to lick his face. _

_ “Oh no! No no no!” a voice called and then the dog was tugged away and Stannis stood, face-to-face, with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. “I am so sorry, are you okay? She’s never done that before, she just tore out of my hand and ran and---Gods, I am so sorry, have I mentioned that?” the woman’s cheeks flushed and she tucked her hair behind her ears. _

_ “I’m fine, yeah---good, err, fine” he cleared his throat as she extended the hand not holding the leash to him._

_ “I’m Sansa, and this good for nothing dog is Lady” she said as he took her hand. The dog, Lady, however, didn’t look the least bit apologetic. In fact, though the woman--Sansa, held the leash, Lady was sitting at his feet, looking up at him._

_ “Stannis” he said, shaking her hand softly. _

_ “It's nice to meet you, Stannis” she slowly released his hand. “Could I...I mean, to make it up to you of course, buy you coffee or--?”_

_ “Me?” he choked out, grinding his back teeth when he realized how foolish that sounded._

_ “Yes. You. Me. Both of us, yes” she laughed, seemingly unperturbed by his awkwardness._

_ “I---yes, thank you” he gave a curt nod, closing his mouth before he could say anything stupid and they fell into step together. She was tall, he noticed, pleasantly so, and her long legs easily kept up with his regular walking pace. _

_ Lady walked between them, occasionally bumping his leg and he would glance down at her as they walked. Sansa must have caught him, laughing softly. _

_ “She likes you” Sansa said thoughtfully. “Which is strange because she doesn’t normally like men. She hates my brothers, though I can hardly blame her” she laughed. _

_ “What sort of dog is she?” Stannis asked, attempting to make conversation. The dog was larger than most of the military dogs he’d met, and that was saying something. _

_ “She’s a Scottish Deerhound and she’s not even fully grown yet” Sansa laughed. “She got too big for her previous home and I took her in when the owners surrendered her.” _

_ “She’s going to get bigger?” Stannis asked, the dog already reached his thigh, how much larger would it get?_

_ “A bit” Sansa smiled as they turned the sidewalk and arrived at the Corner Coffee Shop. Stannis stepped in front and opened the door for Sansa, who strode in gracefully, but only when he walked in did Lady follow, sticking close to his side. _

_ “Look who it is!” a voice behind the counter called out and Stannis immediately decided that they must know Sansa, as they never greeted him as such. _

_ “Staying out of trouble?” Sansa smiled as the girl appeared behind the counter, her cropped dark brown hair in a messy ponytail and frosting on her apron. ‘Arya’ her name tag read, and while he had seen her before, he’d never taken note of her name. He was an anti-social creature by nature and it seemed that Sansa was as outgoing as she was beautiful._

_ “Never” the girl smirked back, then glanced to him. “Welcome back in.”_

_ “Thank you” he gave a nod. _

_ “Arya this is Stannis, Stannis this is my sister Arya” Sansa explained and he gave a small smile. _

_ “Nice to officially meet you” he said._

_ “Same” she looked at Sansa, the two of them exchanging a smile before Arya spoke again. “Usual for both of you?” she asked._

_ “Yes” Sansa pulled cash from her purse before he could stop her, he hadn’t truly intended that she pay for his coffee, but Sansa gladly did so._

_ “Arya, you put a discount on there? I told you--” _

_ “It's not your family discount” Arya glanced to Stannis. “It's his military one.”_

_ “Oh” Sansa looked up at him, eyes a bit wide but her smile even wider. “Then I am doubly glad you let me buy you coffee. A ‘sorry about Lady’ and ‘thank you for your service’.”_

_ “It’s nothing, really---”_

_ “What’d Lady do?” Arya asked. _

_ “It’s so embarrassing, she ran off and all but tackled Stannis,” Sansa blushed as she handed over the cash for their coffee, and Arya looked like she didn’t believe her sister. “I thought she was going to plow him clean off his feet!”_

_ “Fortunately, I am made of sturdier stuff than most,” he said with a slight shrug. _

_ “Fortunately” Sansa smiled back at him and he wasn’t entirely sure why he felt that smile all the way in his gut. _

Their first coffee ‘date’ had lasted so long that, in the end, they wound up eating dinner together at a small restaurant along the park’s edge, Lady lying beneath the table they shared on the patio. 

He had never spent so much time with a woman--a person, really, that wasn’t obligated by work or familial ties to do so. Conversation had come freely, once he had forced himself to relax, and he learned all about Sansa Stark, as she learned about him. 

She was an art teacher at the high school in town, teaching both art and art history, and she often took lady to class with her. Lady would, admittedly, sleep the day away while she taught and then they could walk through the park after work. 

While Sansa came from a large family, she wasn’t close to them aside from her sister, Arya. The others all lived in the North still, only Sansa and Arya had chosen to leave, and did so together. They still shared a townhouse at the other side of the park. 

While Sansa was intelligent, she was never pretentious or snobbish, she was truly humble and very kind. A skill, he supposed, came in handy when you worked with teenagers all day. 

He, in turn, told her of his time in the Army. That he joined when he was only 18 and had been serving ever since. He had promoted quickly and used the military’s funding to attend college while deployed. 

He wasn’t close with either of his brothers, Robert or Renly, but instead had found another brother in Davos Seaworth, a man placed in his unit during his second deployment and who, through trial in combat and the trials of life, had become Stannis’ truest brother. 

Sansa had smiled, truly happy that he had found his ‘soul brother’ as she had called it. It was harder to find a ‘soul brother’ than one would think, she said, and she was glad he had Davos. 

After they had finished their dinner, they chose to walk once more around the park, and this time, as they did so, he felt Sansa’s hand slip into his. Their fingers entwined and his larger palm pressed to hers with a comforting warmth.

He should have known, in that moment, that he would never hold another woman's hand--no others would do.

_ “Is this okay?” Sansa whispered, pausing their walk to look from their joined hands to his eyes. He held Lady’s lead in his opposite hand, the dog insisting that it walk at his side, and this allowed him to walk closer to Sansa._

_ “Yes” he said without hesitation, gently squeezing her hand. _

_ “You’ll think it silly” she said quietly, covering their joined hands with her opposite hand. “But I think I have waited a very long time to hold your hand, Stannis.”_

_ “I can’t imagine why” he gave a sardonic chuckle. “But I am grateful to have your hand in mine.”_

_ Sansa smiled and they continued their walk. Stannis was aware that, to all who passed, they looked like a happy couple out to walk their dog. He had never been a part of that ‘happy couple’ you would see in the park. His experience with women quite limited and negative in memory, but now, with Sansa... _

_ “Oh look” Sansa halted their walk, pointing to where a rowdy group of kids were riding their bikes across the lawn, waving flags and glow sticks. They were from the high school, celebrating a football victory, Sansa explained as a few of them rode by yelling out their greetings to Miss. Stark._

_ “I don’t remember ever being that carefree” Stannis mused and he saw Sansa frown. _

_ “Well” she gave a nod. “It’s time you learned, Stannis Baratheon.”_

_ “Will you teach me, Miss. Stark?” he asked._

_ “Absolutely, so pay attention because there is no extra credit” she snarked and he laughed softly, squeezing her hand as they resumed their travels through the park. _

And she had made good on that promise. Sansa Stark--now Sansa Baratheon, had taught him how to truly live. She had brought him to life. 

They dated for several months before they progressed the physical side of their relationship, both of them contented to progress slowly and let and the passion between them burn and grow. The first morning he woke up beside her, their bodies sated and exhausted, her fiery hair across his pillows and Lady asleep in the hall, he knew that he was going to marry her. 

The plane jolted as it touched down and Stannis jolted back to the present. He pulled his cell phone from his chest pocket and powered it up before tucking it away. He wanted it handy in the event that Sansa couldn’t find him in the crowd. There were over a hundred people on the plane, he was sure the tarmac would be chaos. 

The plane came to life as the men and women around him stood and began to stack their gear and shoulder their bags. A few from his unit kept glancing back over at him and Stannis knew they were waiting to see who he was going to meet on the runway. 

The plane’s cargo doors opened and the balmy summer heat flooded the plane. It was nothing compared to Essos, but still it was quite clearly summer in Storm’s End. 

He stood and shouldered his bag as his phone chimed and he pulled it out to read Sansa’s message, _Just whistle and you’ll hear Lady. With Davos. xox_

He smiled, unable to wait a second longer to see her, and tucked his phone away and walked with the crowd out of the plane. The tarmac was chaos, hundreds of family members milling about on the opposite side of the fences, all yelling and waving at whoever they were waiting for. 

Stannis walked through the gates, nodding to the guards before he turned and gave a sharp whistle. The sound echoed and a few turned to look at him just as deep, booming barks filled the air. 

Lady was guiding him home. 

He followed the sound and spotted a familiar head of grey hair with the cherished fiery red he had missed so much. He was hyper-aware of the eyes following him, but the moment she came into view, he couldn’t have been bothered to care. Not when she was here. Not now…

“Oh Gods” he tried to swallow back the lump of emotion in his throat, but he knew that soon he would be crying. Vainly he covered his mouth, but it did nothing to stem the waves of emotion consuming him. 

Lady stood at her side, bouncing in excitement as she spotted him, but Stannis couldn’t pull his eyes from Sansa to watch their dog. There, holding Davos’ arms was a vision in a bright blue sundress, the fabric falling to her sandaled feet and doing nothing to conceal that she was quite heavily pregnant. 

Pregnant...

“Oh Gods” he held his mouth covered, as if to stifle his emotions, as he neared and she gave a watery smile back, a hand resting on her stomach. He barely registered the sound of his bag falling to the ground, his arms reaching out of their own accord, hands covering her hand on her stomach. 

Davos stepped back, holding tightly to Lady’s lead as Stannis marvelled at his wife.

“Welcome home, daddy” Sansa whispered. 

“Sansa” he choked out. “You're ...we're….”

“You’re home just in time,” she said softly. “We’re going to have a baby in a few moons.”

“How many---” he broke off. “More...how many more?”

“Two” she smiled, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Two more moons and your son will be here.” 

“Son--Oh Gods” he choked out, his tears finally escaping as he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. “I love you, Sansa, I love you.” 

“I love you and I have missed you so much,” she cried, clinging to him.

He trailed kisses across any of her skin he could reach. Shoulder, neck, jaw, chin, temples, forehead, and finally, when she was giggling through her tears, he found her lips, kissing her deeply. It had been six months since he had felt her touch, her kiss, and it was even more intoxicating than he remembered.

Sansa returned his kiss with every bit of enthusiasm he felt, his hands tunneling into her waist-length hair to hold her close, her stomach pressed against his, reminding him that soon he would be a father. 

He had never thought of pregnant women being particularly sexy before, he hadn’t paid them much mind at all truthfully. But the sight of Sansa, heavy with child --his child, had his body in overdrive, and he was quite anxious to explore every new curve and re-acquaint himself with her in every way. 

The sound of a clearing throat broke into Stannis mind and he pulled back from their kiss, still holding his wife close. Turning to Davos, his old friend was chuckling and then nodded behind them. Stannis turned to see the members of his unit and several others all watching him with wide eyes. 

“Shit” he muttered and Sansa giggled. 

Her laugh seemed to break the spell and the others burst into cheers, a few guys giving him two thumbs up, even if they looked like they were in shock. 

“Go on, get” Stannis barked at them and they scurried away, which only made Sansa laugh harder. 

“They’re so afraid of you,” she smiled. “Of my big teddy bear.” 

“They all just wanted to see what sort of woman would marry me” he explained softly. “Likely disappointed that you aren’t a troll with pointed ears.”

Sansa smirked, “Troll? Excuse me?”

“They’re all terrified of Stannis, as they should be” Davos broke in and Stannis turned to shake his friends hand before they shared a brief hug. “Welcome back.” 

“Thank you, it's great to be back” Stannis said. “You two have been keeping secrets.” 

“Davos was sworn to secrecy. He offered to help and we’ve been hard at work in the spare room” Sansa smiled, slipping her hand into Stannis’, as she had every day since the first day at the park. 

“He’s been doing the heavy lifting, I hope” Stannis glanced to Davos who nodded. 

“And the painting, and whatnot” Davos chuckled. “She’s an even harder taskmaster than you are.” 

“I am not” Sansa’s laughter was cut off by Lady’s insistent barking and Stannis finally crouched to greet her, nearly overrun but her enthusiasm. 

“I missed you too” Stannis scratched her as he climbed into his lap, licking his face and neck with excitement. “Gods, what have you been feeding her” he smirked as her weight crashed into him. 

“She’s taken to sleeping against my stomach, since it's the closest thing she can get to you” Sansa smiled and Stannis slowly stood.

“She missed me” Stannis said. 

“We both missed you” Sansa smiled, briefly kissing him. As she did so, a few whistles and cheers broke out behind them but the moment Stannis turned to glare at them, they fell silent. “Come on,” Sansa squeezed his hand. “Let’s go home.” 

“Absolutely” he agreed, kissing her temple as they moved back to Davos’ SUV. Stannis kept his arm around her for as long as he could, reluctantly parting with her to help her into the truck. "Hey" he said softly and she turned back to smile at him.

"Hey" she beamed. 

"I love you" he said softly, his hand resting on her stomach. 

"I know" she giggled. "You made sure I had our son to keep me company while you were away." 

"Never again" he promised. "I am home now, I am not leaving. Not again." 

"Good" she smiled, leaning in to kiss him. "Now get in, I can't wait to get you home" she whispered. 

"Yes, ma'am" he laughed softly, tossing his back in the back and climbing in beside Lady. He couldn't wait to be home either.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr for pic sets and more shenanigans!  
@the-red-wulf or https://the-red-wulf.tumblr.com/


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